POWER FARMING IN HEREFORDSHIRE.
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Progress of the Agrimotor in the Western County. The Farmer's Shortcomings in Care and Maintenance,
DURING the past month I have been able to secure a considerable amount of information as to the position of the agrimotor at the present juncture, that will be of interest to readers of The Commerezal Motor.
My discussions with the various agricultural implement firms whom I have consulted fall under the fol lowing heads :---(1) The trade in. 1920. (2) Prospects for 1921.. (3) Repair services. (4) The attitude of the farmer towards the agrimotor as a mechanical con trivance. .
Perhaps the best way of dealing with my subject will be to ,set down, separately, selections of infor
mation relating to different parts of the country. I will start in the first place with Herefordshire, which county I visited last. week, commencing with reference to the firm of Messrs. James Fryer, Ltd., of Hereford. .
The head
quarters, the Dragon Garage, is a very large Place. and most of the work is at present done them, but a new workshop isbeing erected. This shop will -havethree parallel bays, -each being 50 ft. wide and
150 ft. long. In
Ploughing by a Fordson agrimotor and a Na. 7 Oliver plough of
the one bay is an "intake "—land taken from the Yorkshire moors and put under being fitted an cultivation. The " intakes" are hummocky, and the gradients and
overhead travelthe fibrous nature of the soil make the work almost too hard for ling crane, caphorses. able of carrying any weight up to two tons, for dealing with a complete engine, taking it out of tractors and conveying it -to the repair shop at the end of the hay. The shop will be equipped with a full range of machine tools, welding .plant, and hydraulic press. It should be one of the biggest and best equipped shops in the country.
Colonel Wilkes., whom I interviewed, informed me that agrimotors were being much used in Herefordshire, though there were not as many as should be. Too many farms that ought to have them were still without them. Trade was better than had. been expected during the autumn, but, at the moment, it was nottoo good.
CI:ra.4 informed that farmers in that. part of the world did not buy an appliance until they were ready to use it. It would be a great convenience to' agents and manufacturers if farmers would order their tractors in advance, instead of expecting to be able to walk into the shop on a fine day and have one handed from the shelf.
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In regard to the matter of repairs, it was thought that farmers have yet to acquire what might be described as more mechanical "horse sense," and to treat their machinery with as much consideration as they would an animal. Generally, an agrim.otor works through the five months and is put into a barn in the autumn and there allowed to remain until the day it is again required in the spring. Of course, what happens is that, when required again in the spring, moisture has got. into the magneto; or sorne• other difficulty has arisen which prevents a start being made. Then the farmer is in a flurry, while his work is being delayed.
I was informed that, with one solitary exception, farmers. never bring in a tractor for repairs or overhauling until it has completely broken down. The best time for repairs is considered to be after completion of the autumn ploughing. November to Jantiary•being the slackest time on the farm, are the best months for having one's agrimotcir thoroughly examined. This would generally mean•a day's work for a good mechanic. Matters to be looked to id certain tractors include ergine, bearings, gears, cornpre.ssion, ignition etc. T e s e matters need special attention in the Fordson, whilst the chain transmission and, the ignition should be oVerhauled in the I n t. e r national Junior: -These are • t o excellent agrintotors, and • are both in good demand in the county of Hereford. The, Fordson, however, is said to be subjected to a lot of
. abuse, being run with full open throttlr:. day after day.
Do farmers work their agrimotors too long without attention and overhauling'? I asked this question, and received as reply an emphatic "Yes." Messrs. Fryer have propounded what seems to be a new idea in the matter of tractor repairs.. It was suggested to me that, when a tractor needs repairing and it is required at the same time for working on the farm, an arrangement might be come to between the farmer and the engineer whereby smother model might be supplied and the old one taken back, repaired, and then forwarded, on. to another farmer while, in turn, his appliance was being repaired; but . farmers show reluctance in taking np the scheme. The most interesting people in Herefordshire, . among tractor users, are those who have had them. for several years. It is strange that, in the: case of ' farmers who have far several years been using an agrimotor, they have only just realized, arid seem surprised to have done so, that the tractor is an economy in the present day of high wages, and, what s of more importance, an insurance against bad veather in seasonal work.
The most important seasonal operation is that of bayma.king and harvest, and it is then that the regular motor user realizes its value, when he sees his own mops gathered in fine weather, while those of his mrsed friend are, through delay, being deteriorated )3, had weather.
The present is not what might be described as a Tory good time for farmers. Last summer, many of he crops were lost owing to bad weather. Prices )1 farm produce have fallen somewhat, but the worst that has occurred is the terrible outbreak of foot and mouth disease, which has prevented farmers realizing their profits and, consequently, many of them are rendered short of ready cash. However, it is in Limes like these that the. agrimotor comes most to the assistance of the farmer, enabling him to effect economies and to make up, to some extent, for his past losses. The only question about it is that of meeting the initial capital outlay.
The small, light tractors are most in demand in Herefordshire, two reasons being given for this; first, they are reasonably cheap, and, second, the small, light tractors are regarded with more favour on heavy land such as is found in this county. Apart from my interview with Messrs. James Fryer, Ltd., I am able to state that the Fordson and the International Junior tractors are to be seen in Herefordshire in the greater numbers. There are a few Austins and also a number of Titans and Overtimes. Some of them are old, it is true, but they are there nevertheless, and in many cases are working well. .
An agrimotor like the Fordson and the -Austin, in addition to the reasons given in their favour above, are both admirably suitable for working between rows of hops, which is one of the standard crops of this county. In some hop plantations the rows are closer together than in others In this case, a machine even more compact than the Fordson is required, and then, generally, the Cletrac is found
to be in evidence. Aciangar.